HOW TO THRIVE AS AN EXPAT TEACHER
BY : SORCHA COYLE
My name is Sorcha Coyle . I ’ ve been teaching in the Gulf for the past nine years . I also run the Empowering Expat Teachers community , whose mission is to empower future and current expat teachers to lead personally , professionally and financially rewarding lives . The expat teacher life has so many wonderful aspects - the high salary , the job security , the sun and the standard of living . However , it has one downside - it is unpredictable . Could you have ever imagined that we would start March 2020 living in a pandemic ? This academic year 2020 / 21 , full of COVID-19 restrictions , lockdowns , salary cuts and far too much screen time , has been such a challenging year for all of us , it has really been all about surviving , trying to stay happy and looking after our mental health and wellbeing .
During the lockdown , many of us got into the habit of spending a fortune shopping online . Once lockdown lifted , we treated ourselves to luxury staycations , which were well needed and deserved ! Some of us suffered unexpected job losses or had to cope
with salary cuts . If you were like me , lockdown made me reflect on and reevaluate my priorities and timeline in terms of moving back home . Whatever the effect , we want to have something to show for all our hard work as expat teachers .
Next academic year 2021 / 22 , let ’ s look after our financial wellbeing- let ’ s save more , earn more , and retire with more ! As a wise friend of mine always says , “ Fail to prepare , prepare to fail .” Start planning NOW to make 2021 / 22 your year of financial empowerment .
1 . Decide what you will be saving for the next academic year
Ask yourself , “ Where do I want to be this time in 10 years ?” By starting with the ten-year time frame , you can work backwards to see what steps you need to achieve along the way . Start thinking about your saving goals- this is something I do myself every September and January . For example , if you wish to move home and change careers in 5 years ’ time , then your saving goals could be to save for a mortgage deposit ( 30 % - 35 %+ for an expat mortgage ) and for a qualification in your new career . You need to check if this financial goal is SMART , which means that it is :
Specific : Have a specific amount of money in mind .
Measurable : Break your goal down and set yourself weekly , monthly , halfyear , and annual targets to chart your progress .
Usually , the “ A ” stands for Attainable / Achievable , but I am going to change it to Aspirational ! When I first moved to Qatar at 25 , I set myself a financial goal to save six figures by 30 . It was definitely a high expectation to meet , but by planning , budgeting and doing extra jobs ( tutoring , summer school , and shop work ), I managed to fulfil it by 29 . This opened my eyes to the power of high aspirations , visualisation and SMART goals . You may want to do this AFTER you have decided how you will earn more income in 2021 / 22 ( keep reading ).
Realistic : While working abroad ,
48 Term 3 Apr - Jun 2021 After the Bell